Testimony begins in trial of deputy

OROVILLE — Testimony began Thursday in the trial of a former Butte County sheriff's deputy charged with arranging to meet a minor for a sex act.

Butte County Superior Court jurors watched nearly two-thirds of a three-hour police interview conducted after defendant Earl William Klapperich, 28, was arrested outside a Nord Avenue restaurant in Chico where he was to meet a 14-year-old girl on May 11, 2012.

In reality, the "girl" was Butte County district attorney's Lt. Juan Diaz, who sent text messages while posing as the 14-year-old girl Klapperich met during a call in April 2012.

The District Attorney's Office investigated after the Sheriff's Office received a complaint about how the deputy handled the call where two girls, 14 and 16 years old, were reported as runaways.

In the interview, where Klapperich waived his right to remain silent, he acknowledged he made mistakes but repeatedly told Diaz and investigator Jason Barkley he intended to counsel the girl.

"It was never my intention to have sex with her, to do anything with her," he said at one point.

To prevent the meeting from becoming sexual, Klapperich said he masturbated before leaving his residence for the meeting. Klapperich said he wanted to avoid his body having an involuntary reaction.

The officers were skeptical, asking why the deputy didn't consult with his superior or fellow officers. At various points, the officers asserted the deputy was minimizing his actions and things wouldn't get better until he told the truth.

Barkley went over several of Klapperich's text messages made over a 13-hour period, including requests for more explicit photos and one where the defendant wrote the girl was "hot and naughty" during the earlier call and he was, as well.

"It doesn't make sense to me in the counseling scheme of things," Barkley said.

Klapperich acknowledged the circumstances didn't look good.

The sting

Klapperich is on trial for felony counts of arranging a meeting with a minor and possessing depictions of sexual conduct of a minor. He also faces two misdemeanor counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

In addition to the video, jurors had access to the text message conversation between Klapperich and Diaz as the "girl."

Diaz testified he started the conversation at about 7:30 a.m. on May 11, 2012. After some introductory texts, Diaz asked Klapperich to send a photo. The defendant said the girl should send a photo first, and Diaz sent a close-up photo of a woman's torso taken from Playboy magazine.

Klapperich wrote it wasn't much of a photo and she owed him a better one. He eventually sent the girl a photo of him being bitten by a dog as part of K-9 training.

As the conversation progressed, Diaz sent slightly more revealing photos from the magazine, none of which featured the woman's face.

The "girl" asked if Klapperich wanted to "hook up" and that she could tell the deputy was into her and willing for sex.

Klapperich responded with the "hot and naughty" comment and noted she was very young.

At various points, the deputy asked what the girl wanted and expressed concern about trusting her. The girl responded she would quit if Klapperich was scared.

Diaz explained to the jury his comment was intended as one of several opportunities for the deputy to disengage.

The girl then wrote she was getting a ride from the Bay Area to Chico. A few hours passed, and they arranged to meet at the Nord Avenue restaurant instead of the Berry Creek cabin from the April 2012 incident.

Officers followed the deputy from his residence to the restaurant and arrested him as his vehicle entered the parking lot.

Prior behavior

The jury also heard testimony from two women who had encounters with Klapperich when they were teenagers.

One woman, now in her 20s, testified she was 15 when she entered into a 2-1?2-year romantic and sexual relationship with Klapperich, then 21. He was not a deputy at the time.

She said they sent each other text messages containing sexually explicit photos, including depictions of their genitals, as a form of foreplay.

The woman also testified about two encounters where one of her friends participated in sexual activity with them after getting drunk. One of those friends also testified.

The women's testimony was admitted after an evaluation outside the jury's presence.

Defense attorney Benjamin Adams argued their testimony from six years ago was irrelevant. Deputy district attorney Stacy Edwards argued the testimony addressed the defendant's prior acts with young women.

Judge James Reilley allowed two of the three women presented at the evaluation to testify.

The jury will finish watching Klapperich's police interview this morning as the trial enters its third day.